The Start of a Nu Journey
by PhantasmFlash
Summary: Ragna doesn't know if he can handle this. He may be a strong person, but even the strongest people have weaknesses. ONE-SHOT. Please R&R. The sister fic to this one is The End of a Nu journey. This one is from Ragna's Point of View. End of a Nu Journey is from Nu's Point of View


**The Start of a Nu Journey**

In front of a hospital door, a man was pacing back and forth, grumbling to himself. This man was known as Ragna. He slammed his fist into the wall out of aggrevation.

"Damnit, how long are we going to have to wait!" He shouted. This earned him a few stares from passerby. He felt a hand go over his. He looked over and saw his friend, Noel Vermillion. She smiled at him and shook her head.

"Ragna, I know you are worried, but we have to be patient. This isn't the first time we have been here like this, so please calm down." She said calmly. She was anxious as well, but she had to keep the hot-headed man under control.

"She is right, Ragna. I fear that if you were to lose your temper, we shall all find ourselves thrown out into the street. Is that something you want?" A girl with twin pigtails walked up and said. Ragna rolled his eyes.

"Great, now Rachel is here as well. Why are you here anyway? To make jokes at me again? I'm not in the mood for it right now." Ragna said sitting on a bench. Rachel walked up to him and smacked him.

"How dare you. Do you think that I am so insensitive that I would come here just to make wisecracks at you? I am not a monster, Ragna. I am here to support you whether you like it or not. She is MY friend to. We are all worried, so get over yourself." Rachel said with a stern look in her eye. Ragna hung his head.

"I'm sorry. I am just worried. I don't know what I would do if something happened to her, ya know? I know I call her annoying sometimes, but she is everything to me." Ragna said with tears forming. Noel stepped forward and embraced the man.

"It is alright, Ragna. We are here for you. She is our friend and so are you. When either of you needs us, we will be here." She said trying to comfort the man. Ragna looked up and smiled. It felt good to have friends when the time called for it. He couldn't be a loner all the time. He just then realized that everything began to change that day when the girl who would change his life appeared before him.

* * *

_**DING DONG!**_

"_Yeah, I am coming." Ragna said getting up from watching TV. He wondered who would be outside when it was raining cats and dogs outside. He opened the door to see a young girl standing there crying. She was soaked from head to toe. Her silver hair was a mess and clinging to her body from being in the rain. Ragna was shocked to say the least. The only thing she had with her, was a small scrapbook._

"_Excuse me…Nu was wondering if she might be able to stay here tonight? Nu is lost. She can't find her way back home. Nu was – ACHOO!" The girl sneezed. Ragna knew he would regret this later, but he decided to indulge in her request._

"_Yeah, yeah. Come inside. I'll draw a warm bath for you. You can't be walking around in those clothes, you will catch a cold. I hope you don't mind wearing some of my old clothes." He said waving his hand. The girl's eyes lit up. She smiled as she followed him into his house. Maybe she had finally found a place to call home. _

"_Nu feels a little guilty not telling him that Nu has no home. She has no memory of anything before she found his doorstep." She said relaxing herself into the bath. It felt really nice after she was stuck out in the cold rain. _

"_Nu will need to tell him soon. She can't lie like this forever." She said as she got out of the bath. She picked up the shirt that Ragna had given her and saw it was like a small dress on her. She put it on and she could honestly say she felt smaller than ever._

"_Um…Hello? Nu is done." She said walking back into the room where the TV had a faint glow. She saw the man fast asleep on the couch. She figured she would thank him in the morning. She curled up on the foot of the couch and fell asleep._

* * *

Ragna remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was the first night she had come into his life and he thought it was only temporary. That was until she began to grow on the man. She slowly came out of her shell and became the most energetic person he had ever met by a long shot. He couldn't bear to imagine what might happen if she was taken away from him.

"Ragna? Are you alright?" Noel asked. Ragna just raised his head.

"Yes. I was just thinking about the day that I first met Nu. The day she came to me in the rain like a lost puppy. I was thinking how my life would be if she had not come into my life. I would probably still be the same old sourpuss that you grew up with." He said as he ruffled the girls hair. Noel just laughed. She had to agree with him on that one.

"I agree with you. Why don't we –" She was cut off by the doctor opening the door.

"Everyone, you may come in now." The doctor said. At once, Ragna, Rache, and Noel rushed into the room eagerly trying to see if Nu is alright. They got into the room and saw Nu hooked up to many machines and she looked like she was in pain. Ragna turned and grabbed the doctor by his collar and forced him against the wall.

"You BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER! YOU SAID YOU WOULD HELP HER!" Ragna yelled. The doctor put his hands up and started to speak.

"We have done everything we can. We have never seen this before. It is like her mind is just shutting down. It is all up to her now." The doctor said with a shaky voice. Ragna huffed and put the man down. Rachel and Noel were already at Nu's bedside. Noel was stroking the girl's hair while Rachel was holding her hand.

"Rag…na…" The girl said weakly. Ragna's eyes lit up at hearing the girl's voice.

"Nu! I'm here. Are you alright. Please tell me you are going to be alright. I promised to take you to that new amusement park that opened remember? We can go as soon as you leave here alright?" Ragna said. He almost sounded like he was pleading. Nu opened her eyes and looked at everyone. She shook her head.

"Ragna…Noel…Rachel…Thank you for being the friends Nu never had before…" Nu said. Her voice was stuttering slightly and you could see tears in her big, red eyes.

"Nu…" Noel and Rachel said in unison. Nu started to speak again.

"Nu knows she is not going home. She has accepted that. Don't be sad because Nu will always be with you. All of you." She said. Ragna couldn't bear what he was hearing. He felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest the more she spoke. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rachel put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Nu continued to speak. They noticed it seemed harder for her to form words.

"Ragna…I never…told you about…where I came from…" She said quietly. Ragna leaned in and grabbed the girl's hand.

"Nu, I don't care about that. I just want you here with me." Ragna said. Nu raised a hand and put a finger to his mouth.

"Let Nu finish, Ragna. I believe it was you who told me that interrupting was rude." She said with a slight smile. Noel was crying by this point and Rachel was trying her best not to cry. It was a fruitless effort, however.

"Nu doesn't remember where she came from. Nu is sure it doesn't matter, though. She could not have lived better than she has anywhere else. She –" She said before starting to cough furiously. She grabbed her chest and she looked as if she was in tremendous pain. She looked at Ragna and started to speak again.

"Ragna…Nu has…a request…will you tell Nu that you love her? It doesn't have to be the truth. Nu just wants to hear it. Then Nu can go." She said. Ragna's eyes went wide with shock at this statement.

"Nu! You are going home with me. That is what we promised eachother!" Ragna yelled. Nu smiled sweetly and shook her head.

"Rag..na, Nu is afraid she will not be able to keep her promise. Nu knows it is selfish, but please, tell Nu that you love her." Nu said looking up with pleading eyes filled with tears. Ragna looked at the girl and back to Rachel and Noel. Both of them nodded and he sighed and kneeled down beside her.

"Nu, I do love you. I have since a little after I took you in. I know I never told you and I am sorry. This is the truth so you don't have to think this is just me telling you what you want to hear. Nu, I love you and there is nothing that will ever change that." Ragna said. He closed his eyes and waited to hear her voice. After a few minutes, he opened them. She had not said anything yet. He looked and saw that the life had been drained from her face. He stepped back and couldn't believe what he was seeing. The one girl he had truly loved was now gone.

"Nu…no…You can't leave me. Not like this." Ragna said burying his head in his hands. Noel and Rachel both embraced the man. He had just lost a very important friend. No, more than a friend. He had lost family and nothing could replace it.

Ragna was sitting down at his table looking at a picture of him and Nu from his birthday last year. She had made him a cake and although she had made a mess of everything, he enjoyed just being with her and his friends. He looked out the window and saw it was storming. Just like that night.

"I guess I will go to bed. There is nothing keeping me up anymore anyway." He said as he stood up and headed for his room. He was surprised when he heard a noise.

**DING DONG!**

Ragna felt his heart skip a beat. He walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. He couldn't see anyone out there. He opened the door and found a letter taped to a box. He took the letter and opened it to read it.

_Dear Ragna,_

_Nu is sorry. She had Noel keep this letter for when Nu would not be here anymore. Nu told her to give it to you when Nu left. Nu has known for a long time that she would not be around for long. She knew what was wrong. Nu just wanted to enjoy the time she could spend with you until the very end. Inside the box is Nu's final gift to you as a thank you for everything you have done for Nu. Thank you, Ragna._

_Love,_

_Nu._

Ragna's eyes teared up as he finished the letter. He got his hopes up thinking maybe she was somehow back. He opened the box and took out the contents. He broke out in tears when he saw what it was.

Inside the box was her scrapbook

* * *

**END**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

**Yep, it is another Nu story. Let me know how everything is going so far and if you have any suggestions. I am not sure when I am going to be done writing about Nu. She is just such a fun character to work with. Please R&R**

**-Echoesofmercy**


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